Taylor Swift's 'Lover': Everything we know about the pop star's seventh album

Taylor Swift's highly anticipated seventh studio album "Lover" is just around the corner. The 29-year-old pop icon has shared plenty of sneak peeks with fans while still leaving much to be anticipated for release day.

The follow-up to her 2017 album "Reputation," Swift has preceded her "Lover" debut with a string of new songs and flashy videos, with still more to come as her release week arrives.

When is 'Lover' released?

“Lover” is scheduled to arrive at midnight Friday.

The cover, showing Swift wearing heart-shaped glitter on her face against a pastel sky, was shot by 24-year-old photographer Valheria Rocha.

Fans can pre-order the new album on Swift's website, as well as four separate deluxe editions, each of which contains a different poster as well as a set of Swift's journal entries, handwritten lyrics and archived photos, along with a book of the album's lyrics.

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After dropping a series of cryptic clues on social media, Taylor Swift recently released her new single "Me!" featuring singer Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco. In honor of her new release, 24/7 Wall Street is counting down the most popular Taylor Swift albums, starting with her 2012 release "Red," which featured Swift working in numerous different musical styles. A chart-topping album that was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Album Grammy awards, although it failed to win either.
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"Speak Now: World Tour Live," 2011: This compilation of songs and performances recorded over the course of Swift's Speak Now World Tour in 2011 was released in both CD and DVD formats. The album features every song from the "Speak Now" album as well as covers of Train's 2001 hit "Drops of Jupiter" and Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes," originally released in 1981. evarinaldiphotography / Flickr

"The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection (EP)," 2007: This six-song holiday EP was only available in Target stores upon its original release. It gained wider distribution a year later and reached its peak position on the Billboard 200 in December 2009. Roger Kisby / Getty Images

"Beautiful Eyes (EP)," 2008: Similar to how "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" was released exclusively to Target stores at first, "Beautiful Eyes" was exclusive to Walmart. The CD/DVD combo -- released prior to Swift's second full-length album -- reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 as well as No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. Michael Caulfield / Getty Images

"Taylor Swift," 2006: Taylor Swift was only 16 years old when she recorded her debut album. Released in 2006, the album did not reach its peak No. 5 position on the Billboard 200 until 2008. Buoyed by singles including "Tim McGraw," "Teardrops on My Guitar," and "Our Song," the self-titled release spent 275 total weeks on the Billboard 200 -- a record for the singer. minds-eye / Wikimedia Commons

"Reputation," 2017: Three years passed between the release of "1989" and the follow-up "Reputation." The album showcases Swift's work firmly in the genre of electronic pop, having fully abandoned her country-pop roots. While the album reached No. 1, it had the shortest stay on the Billboard 200 of all of her feature-length releases. julioenriquez / Flickr

"Speak Now," 2010: Taylor Swift's third album is filled with confessional country-tinged pop songs, all of which were written by the singer. Every song on the standard 14-track release charted on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart. Eva Rinaldi / Wikimedia Commons

"1989," 2014: Around the time of its release, Taylor Swift stated on a Yahoo! live stream that "1989" was her "first documented, official pop album." Inspired by late-'80s pop, the album featured numerous infectious singles such as "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood," all of which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. Graham Denholm / Getty Images

"Fearless," 2008: Taylor Swift's sophomore album, "Fearless," spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Country Album. The album was the best selling album of 2009 and solidified Swift's position as a young superstar. Notable singles include "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me." WEZL / Wikimedia Commons

"You Need to Calm Down" has been the splashiest release of Swift's "Lover" promotional cycle thus far, with Swift going all-in on her Pride advocacy with a performance at the historic Stonewall, while other voices around the internet criticized the video's message.

The third new song Swift shared from "Lover" was the non-single track "The Archer" on July 23, which saw her reuniting with her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff on the song's production.

"If I had made all the same choices, all the same mistakes, all the same accomplishments, how would it read?” she said about the song, which features the lyrics, "I’d be a fearless leader. I’d be an alpha type. When everyone believes ya: What’s that like?”

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Taylor Swift's "Reputation" stadium tour special is now streaming on Netflix. It's hard to believe the singer, who turned 29 on Dec. 13, 2018, has spent nearly half her life in the spotlight. Where have the years gone? Click forward to revisit every phase of her career. Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

On her 2017 album "Reputation," Swift declared that all previous versions of her were "dead." In 2018, she took one of her biggest risks yet, sharing her political opinions for the first time by endorsing candidates for Tennessee's House and Senate races. John Salangsang/Invision/AP

"Silence Breaker": Swift appeared as one of Time's people of the year in 2017. "The Silence Breakers" represented a broad range of people, mostly women, from the year's first public accusers of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein to those who shared their stories of abuse using the hashtag #MeToo. BILLY & HELLS, AFP/Getty Images

"Award-Winning" Taylor: At the 2018 American Music Awards, Swift shone brightly onstage in a metallic look while accepting four awards: Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock, Favorite Album - Pop/Rock, Tour of the Year and Artist of the Year. Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

What are fans saying?

Just as she's done with previous albums, Swift is holding "secret sessions" for her super-fans to give them a first listen to "Lover." The first session was held Aug. 2 in London, and while attendees were sworn to secrecy regarding the details of "Lover," dispatches coming out of the listening party featured fans' raves of Swift's new music.

"The album was AMAZING," wrote Reddit user Nadianiffi. "So many amazing bops and also some true tearjerkers (archer who?????) I believe there’s something for everyone on that album. There’s some really stripped down stuff and some hardcore bops."

Another "Secret Session" attendee, Reddit user 13deviant13, gave the album a "9/10 for Taylor's standards," calling some songs "too mainstream" but predicting "Lover" will be an Album of the Year-"type of an album."

"The album vibe definitely matches the color of the album cover," the user wrote. "It has '1989' feels, 'Speak Now' lyrics, 'Fearless' hints and none of (Swift's most recent album, 'reputation')."

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Taylor Swift's highly anticipated seventh album, "Lover," marks a new era in her career. Look back at the singer's life in photos, from her early Nashville days through her current pop supremacy. Getty/AP

Swift surprises fans at the new Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You Up" mural on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Swift commissioned the mural and put clues about her upcoming new music in the piece. Leah Puttkammer, Getty Images

A courtroom sketch shows Taylor Swift speaking from the witness stand in Denver on Aug. 10, 2017 during the trial of a lawsuit between Swift and David Mueller, a former radio host she accused of groping her. Jeff Kandyba via AP

November 2006: Topping charts since the release of her first single, 'Tim McGraw,' Swift stayed on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 list for straight 20 weeks, landing at No. 6 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Looking flawless in a tight, black dress, she showed off her long, luscious curls at the CMA Awards in Nashville. Eileen Blass, USAT

September 2009: Yikes! Who can forget that awkward moment when Kanye West stole the spotlight and interrupted Swift's acceptance speech during the MTV Video Music Awards? Despite Kanye's preference for Beyoncé, fans still celebrated her winning best female video for 'You Belong With Me.' Christopher Polk, Getty Images

October 2011: Swift released her third album, 'Speak Now,' which debuted at No. 1 on the 'Billboard' album chart and sold a million copies in its first week. She also embarked on her second world tour. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic

December 2012: Swift had fans seeing 'Red' as her hit single 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' sold a million copies in its first week. She also notched her third consecutive No. 1 debut on the 'Billboard' Hot 200 album chart. Here, she jams out on stage, she performed during KIIS FM's 2012 Jingle Ball in Los Angeles. Christopher Polk, Getty Images for Clear Channel

November 2013: She may not be an official supermodel, but she did rock the runway during the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York. Swift earned her VS halo performing her hit single, 'I Knew You Were Trouble' and 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark' with Fallout Boy. Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

October 2014: Swift was named 'Billboard's 'Woman of the Year,' and she shook things up releasing her first official pop album, '1989.' She electrified the crowd singing 'Shake it Off' at iHeartRadio in New York. Kevin Mazur, Getty Images for TAS

February 2016: Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Lorde and Emma Stone are only a short list of celebs T-Swift calls her besties. Gomez came along as her red carpet date to the 58th annual Grammys, where she won her second album-of-the-year award for '1989', six years after her first win for 'Fearless.' DAN MACMEDAN, USA TODAY

Picking up the album-of-the-year Grammy — her third trophy of the night — Swift dedicated her win to "the young women out there" and advised them not to let people "undercut you or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame." It was interpreted as a rebuke of Kanye West's claim that he made her famous by interrupting her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Awards. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

What has Taylor said about the new album?

Swift has been coy about revealing too much about "Lover" in the interviews she's conducted leading up to the album's release, but has hinted at the various themes listeners can expect.

“There are so many ways in which this album feels like a new beginning,” she told Vogue. “This album is really a love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory.”

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in May, Swift delved deeper into the differences between "Lover" and her previous album "Reputation," saying, “This time around I feel more comfortable being brave enough to be vulnerable, because my fans are brave enough to be vulnerable with me. Once people delve into the album, it’ll become pretty clear that that’s more of the fingerprint of this — that it’s much more of a singer-songwriter, personal journey than the last one.”

“There’s a lot of a lot on this album,” she said. “I’m trying to convey an emotional spectrum. I definitely don’t wanna have too much of one thing. … You get some joyful songs and you get the bops, as they say.”

Fans can also expect “really, really, really, really sad songs,” she added, but “not enough to where you need to worry about me.”

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The 61st Annual Grammy Awards , billed as “music’s biggest night,” will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10. The program is intended to showcase and honor the talents and contributions of the best musicians in all the genres of the recording industry. While many of the 2019 Grammy nominees top the Billboard charts and are some of the best-selling musicians today, only a few rank among the best-selling artists ever. Some of them are also the most popular Grammy winners of all time . To determine the best-selling Grammy Award winners of all time, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed album and digital singles sales data from the Recording Industry Association of America. Artists were ranked by their combined album and digital single sales and were only considered if they have won at least one Grammy Award. Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images